# Gmail



The card's own line: *"Connect your form to your Gmail account to send emails
and check for responses."* The second half is the interesting one, and it is
the reason to pick Gmail over Surface's own email alerts.

## Connecting [#connecting]

OAuth, from the **Integrations** screen. Click **Authenticate** on the Gmail
card and grant Surface access to the mailbox you want mail sent from. Mail goes
out **as that account**, not from a Surface address, which is the point:
replies land in a real inbox and threading works.

## What You Can Do with It [#what-you-can-do-with-it]

| Action                    | Does                                                             |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Gmail Send                | Send an email from the connected account                         |
| Gmail Check Lead Response | Check whether the lead replied, so the workflow can branch on it |

**Check Lead Response is what makes this more than a send step.** A workflow can
send, [wait](https://www.withsurface.com/docs/platform/forms/workflows), then take a different path depending on
whether a reply arrived, without anything outside Surface watching the mailbox.

## Email Alert Is a Different Thing [#email-alert-is-a-different-thing]

Surface's own **Email Alert** action notifies *your team* that something
happened. Gmail Send emails *the lead*, from a mailbox they can reply to. Both
exist; they are not substitutes.

[Workflow Builder →](https://www.withsurface.com/docs/platform/forms/workflows) ·
[Integrations directory](https://www.withsurface.com/docs/platform/integrations)